U.S. Economy

Presented at Mises University 2021.

US car owners are being preyed upon by thieves, because South African mine owners are being preyed upon by their government. 

In a free, unhampered market economy, individuals’ expectations are likely to correspond to the facts of reality. But we live in an economy where central banks routinely distort market signals and deceive the public. 

When the government pays people not to work, that means fewer people producing fewer goods. And that means a poorer society. More government spending won't change this fact. 

Stagnation is real, but it isn’t “secular”—that is, sluggish growth doesn’t have to happen. The coming stagnation isn’t foreordained; it is simply the inevitable outcome of a progressive agenda that disdains free enterprise. 

The Fed isn’t here to take away the punch bowl anymore. The Fed is the punch bowl. 

The federal government collects a lot more in taxes than the state governments do. And the feds also spend a lot more. This tells us a lot about how the federal government came to dominate all political systems in America. 

“Mortgage companies have ramped up their purchases of government-backed mortgages in forbearance, and they are selling these loans back to investors at a profit.”

Stagnation is real, but it isn’t “secular”—that is, sluggish growth doesn’t have to happen. The coming stagnation isn’t foreordained; it is simply the inevitable outcome of a progressive agenda that disdains free enterprise. 

Jeff Deist and John Tamny discuss the economic tradeoffs ignored by alarmist covid policymakers.